Siblings of Group 1 stars set to shine at Easter

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

Over 7 per cent of the yearlings due to head through the ring at Inglis' Riverside Stables on April 7 and 8 are out of mares who have already achieved the ultimate success - producing a Group 1 winner.

Amongst that group of yearlings are full siblings to Artorius, Sunlight (Zoustar), El Patroness (Shamus Award), Nimalee (So You Think {NZ}), Media Sensation (I Am Invincible) and Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}).

With the G1 Golden Slipper S. just run that race is still in everyone's minds and there are three half-siblings to winners of that juvenile feature - Farnan, Fireburn (Rebel Dane) and Estijaab (Snitzel).

Gallery: G1 Golden Slipper S. winners with half-siblings catalogued in the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale

As well as half-brothers and sisters to the multiple Group 1 winners Santa Ana Lane (Lope de Vega {Ire}), Zougotcha (Zousain), Hungry Heart (Frankel {GB}), Shoals (Fastnet Rock), Militarize (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}), Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) and Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}).

Also bound to prove popular are the progeny of mares who have produced Group 1-winning stallions with half-siblings to Grunt (NZ), Wild Ruler, Vanbrugh, Dundeel (NZ) and Written By also on offer.

That makes for some interesting catalogue reading and for busy days at the sales. We had a chat to the vendors preparing these well-related youngsters.

Vinery up first

Vinery Stud have the privilege of selling the first Group 1 sibling at Easter and what a headliner Lot 22 is: a son of Champion Sire Written Tycoon out of a mare by broodmare sire of the moment Fastnet Rock.

That mare being Fast Fleet, city winning dam of the wonderful sprinter Santa Ana Lane who earned himself many fans with his 10 victories; half of which came at Group 1 level.

“The mare has never really had a 2-year-old type,” Vinery's Adam White said, “but this guy looks like one - his sire is having a great run with his youngsters and this colt is very much a Written Tycoon type.

“He has a great action on him and heaps of power.”

It is not a long wait for Vinery to show off another well related colt with Lot 50 being a full brother to the G1 Blue Diamond S. and G1 Canterbury S. winner Artorius.

Like that now Newgate Farm-based horse, this colt was bred by Greg Perry and as Adam White says “when you are buying off such an outstanding breeder, someone who puts so much work into what he does, your chances of getting a good horse are definitely higher.”

“This colt is a little bit different to his brother at the same time, I'd say he has more strength - and he is well balanced with it. Like Artorius he looks the type to show up at two and go on with it at three and beyond.”

The third of the Vinery Group 1 siblings is to be sold on day two, Lot 337 - a Zoustar half-sister to Kia Ora Stud's G1 Golden Slipper S. winning stallion Farnan, as well as to Kooringal Stud's dual Listed winner Sandbar.

The mid-November foal has, White said, improved and matured through her preparation.

“She is an elegant filly with a massive pedigree. I know she is a half-sister to a Slipper winner but she looks the type to be better at the back end of the 2-year-old season into her 3-year-old year.”

Toughness and strength

Speaking of Kia Ora and Farnan, they will be selling a filly from his debut crop: Lot 54, a daughter of the imported Group 2 winner Gypsy Robin (USA) (Daaher {Can}).

Three of that well-related mare's first four to race are winners with two being stakes winners, including Newgate's G1 Moir S. winner Wild Ruler, as well as the G3 Kembla Grange Classic winner Pavitra (American Pharoah {USA}).

Kia Ora bred Wild Ruler and have supported him at stud, with Shane Wright looking forward to seeing what his progeny do on the track.

“Having a nice, progressive young stallion out there with your brand on him is always exciting,” he said.

He described the Farnan filly as “a lovely type who is probably the most forward of the foals Gypsy Robin has produced.”

“I think the Farnan mating has put a bit more toughness and strength into her.”

Full brother to Sunlight an Easter highlight

Widden Stud have a busy sale with a 42-strong draft, six of whom have Group 1 siblings, kicking off with Lot 24, a Written Tycoon half-brother to the in-form Zougotcha (Zoustar) who showed such a great will to win taking out the recent G1 Coolmore S.

Also winner of the G1 Flight S., she has been successful at seven of her 14 starts, proving a great representative of her stakes-placed city winning dam Fast Talker (Fastnet Rock) who has also produced the Listed winners The Actuary (Sebring) and Persuader (Sebring).

“He has a lot of quality for a late foal,” Widden's Matt Comerford said, “in fact you would not even know that he is one. With Written Tycoon so hot there will be plenty of eyes on him, we think he is going to light up the sale ring!”

“He is one of those horses where physique meets pedigree, he is a lovely individual, a very sharp type.”

He is one likely to be sort after by the colt syndicates, as is Lot 295, a Zoustar half-brother (well a bit closer than that being from the same sireline) as Coolmore Stud's Everest winner Yes Yes Yes.

“He is one of the athletic types you see Zoustar sire,” Comerford said, “and he is similar in type to Yes Yes Yes. He has really developed through his preparation and he still has plenty of upside.”

From the same branch of the Encosta De Lago sireline is Lot 303, from the second crop of Zousain who “has launched his career in a great way.”

He is a half-brother to Encosta De Lago's G1 Spring Champion S.-winning son Vanbrugh out of a winning daughter of the outstanding broodmare Professionelle (NZ) (Centaine).

“He was bred to get as close to Vanbrugh's pedigree as possible and the result is a horse with good scope and quality - not dissimilar to Vanbrugh.”

One of the stars of the Widden show - in fact of the whole sale - is the next horse through the ring, Lot 304, a full brother to the Australian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Sunlight (Zoustar).

“He is magical,” said Comerford, “a very well put together colt who is very hard to fault. He carries himself extremely well and I cannot say enough about him! He is as exciting a yearling as Widden has ever offered.”

His dual Group 3-winning dam Solar Charged (Charge Forward) has not surprisingly been a recent visitor to Zoustar in recent years, also producing the G3 Red Roses S. winner Sisstar and the stakes-placed Dio.

As well as the recent Rosehill trial winner Kandinsky Abstract who has shown promise for Chris Waller - and last year's $2.6 million Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling Clean Energy who has trialled well for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

A full brother to the G1 ATC Oaks winner El Patroness, and to the Listed winner Served Cold, is Lot 331 for Widden, a Shamus Award colt out of a full sister to the Group 3-winning Betwixt (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}) whose daughter Provocative (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) won the G1 Queensland Oaks.

“He is a big strapping colt as you'd expect from this family. He has good quality and is the type who is going to continue to improve.”

And then there is Lot 396 bred by Neville Begg, a Capitalist filly out of the fine producer Yau Chin (Tobougg {Ire}) who, by Capitalist's sire Written Tycoon, produced Widden's G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Written By.

“She is a pretty special filly and one of the most improved in our draft; she has just done so well. She has a real way about her, she charges to get things done - she thinks she is a racehorse already!”

Yulong's optimism

Lot 55 is the first of two Yulong-bred youngsters whose dams have already produced big race winners; this one a chestnut colt by the farm's Champion Sire Written Tycoon out of the lightly raced imported mare Harlech (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) whose daughter Hungry Heart won the G1 ATC Oaks and the G1 Vinery Stud S.

Crowned Australia's Champion 3-Year-Old Filly of 2020/21, Hungry Heart was retained by Yulong, foaling a Written Tycoon colt last spring.

As a late November foal, this chestnut has, said Yulong's Sam Fairgray, 'a bit of growing to do' but he is confident of a good result for a yearling he describes as “an attractive, neat, well balanced colt.”

“He has probably got more substance than Hungry Heart had at the same stage, he definitely has that Written Tycoon strength about his shoulders and hindquarters.”

Fairgray is also looking forward to showing off Lot 432, a full sister to the four-time Group 1 winner Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) out of the wonderful broodmare Baggy Green (Galileo {Ire}).

Yulong purchased Baggy Green with this filly in utero for NZ$1.75 million shortly after laying down $3.1 million for Tofane at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale.

Also dam of the G1 Metropolitan H. winner No Compromise (NZ) (Pins) and the Group 1-placed Listed winner Benaud (NZ) (Reliable Man {GB}), Baggy Green is in foal to Written Tycoon who also served Tofane last spring.

“She is very typical of what the mare produces,” Fairgray said.

“I think, with the way that she moves, she is really going to catch people's eye. She is going to take a bit of time to mature but everything is in the right spot and her ovaries are worth a lot of money!”

Fairgray is optimistic about the sale, noting the strength of the catalogue - excited about being a seller and a buyer with Yulong “purchasing a nice mixture of well-bred colts and fillies last year.”